


Vertumnus

by figbash



Series: Nagron [35]
Category: Spartacus Series (TV)
Genre: Arguing, Domestic, Goat Farm, Lovey-Dovey, M/M, Makeup Sex, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 09:56:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4620990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/figbash/pseuds/figbash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(The god of the change of seasons)</p><p>Agron and Nasir are hard at work preparing for the first winter in their new home.</p><p> </p><p>A sequel of sorts to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3216143">Vi Et Animo.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Vertumnus

Agron stares at the goats. The goats stare at Agron. Nasir stands off to the side, amused by the debacle, disguising his laugh in a small cough.

"Never have I seen such fucking stubbornness! The little shits test patience," declares Agron, on the verge of losing his temper.

“You cannot simply impose your will upon them,” Nasir tells him calmly. “Do you not see their cleverness?”

Agron is unimpressed. “You are soft of heart. They stand but simple beasts.”

Nasir chuckles, “Similar words have fallen from lips of many a fucking Roman. Such demeanor does not inspire obedience, as we both well know.”

 _“Ridiculous,”_ scoffs Agron, greatly annoyed.

“Yet it is I who guides them,” says Nasir with a satisfied grin.

Agron rolls his eyes, but his voice holds affection. “Then tell me of this black magic you wield.”

Nasir gazes out upon the little flock as they graze happily. “...You shall learn to love each other, in time.”

The answer does not entirely placate Agron, but he decides against further pursuit of the subject. “It is you who troubles mind with needless concerns."

Nasir leans against Agron's arm, smiling to himself. “Hmm.”

 

It is a few weeks later when Nasir wakes to find himself strangely alone. He rises and ventures outside, but he spots Agron before he succumbs to larger worry. Nasir shields his eyes from the rising morning sun, squinting into the distance. He feels his heart warmed as he observes the little flock following Agron across the vast green fields.

Nasir imagines another scene too -one from not so long ago- of Agron bathed in blood, walking across a hellish landscape strewn with human carnage. He remembers brutality and desperation and the near-constant presence of death.

 _I am almost unable to fathom,_ Nasir thinks, _how we have emerged from that darkness. Our bodies bear the scars, but it is different air we breathe now. How remarkable it is each day to see one's heart... to discover the simplest of reasons to love him anew._ Nasir clutches his chest absently, and for a time he is lost in such ruminations as he watches Agron from atop the hill.

 

At last Nasir descends to join them. Seeing the goats distracted, Agron turns as Nasir approaches. Nasir notes with amusement the look of satisfaction on Agron's face. As Nasir nears the flock, he raises a questioning brow at Agron's prideful expression. But the facade of his disapproval evaporates once he is at Agron's side.

"I am ever so pleased to wake to such a sight," Nasir says as they embrace. He leans a cheek against Agron's chest. "...And to set eyes upon so pleasing a form."

Agron grins. "I doubt this ragged, humble goatherd could inspire any such thoughts."

Nasir smiles against Agron's skin. "I shall be eager to demonstrate them, upon conclusion of task."

Suddenly Nasir feels one of the goats butt its head against his leg. He knows which one it is before he even looks. "Oh? You would raise objection, Ag-" begins Nasir, but he quickly shuts his mouth.

Agron peers down at him. "By what name did you call the beast, pray tell?"

Nasir smiles, releasing Agron and stooping to pet the head of the petite interloper. Aggy seems to relish the extra attention, flicking his tail and bleating happily.

"It is time to take leave. I do not wish to hinder pace. I await your return, humble goatherd," answers Nasir as he rises, making his escape before Agron can question him further. Aggy bleats a few times in protest, but Nasir notes with pride that even the rebellious little goat heeds Agron's new-found authority.

*     *     *

 

They are sprawled across their bed as they catch their breath, sweaty and spent. Articles of clothing lie haphazardly discarded across the floor, as though evidence of their misdeeds. A reddish crescent newly adorns Nasir's shoulder, and perhaps it is in the exact shape of Agron's mouth.

Nasir rolls over, resting his chin on Agron's chest. "For a week's time I have awaited opportunity to find your hands upon me."

"We have had many tasks which demand attention before coming of winter," Agron strokes the top of Nasir's head sympathetically. "There are many that yet remain unfinished, I need not remind you."

Nasir sighs. "Indeed. I only wish to lay together like this for a handful of days." Nasir flashes a sly grin. "So that I might have my fill."

"There will be ample time for such things when we have but each other and glow of hearth to lay gaze upon. I am certain you will tire of me well before season's end," Agron says ruefully.

"Only when I am old and grey," answers Nasir with a kiss. "The winter of these lands is quite unforgiving, is it not?"

Agron nods. "It is of utmost importance to make careful preparation... And you are aware of what must be done with some of the flock."

"Yes, yes...” Nasir says with a frown. “Though I must insist upon sparing my dear friend."

"That little shit would yield meager meal. He is not worth trouble," teases Agron.

Nasir kicks him. "I have seen you cast kind eyes. Do not imply otherwise, arrogant goatherd."

 

With some reluctance they soon resume their day. They have been making good progress, though as more days pass they begin to chafe a bit under the weight of their many responsibilities. Agron, never patient, begins to grow even less so. For awhile Nasir is tolerant, but gradually he too falls prey to the stress of preparing for the first winter in their new home. Each day seems longer than the last, but always there is more to be accomplished. They rise early and fall to bed exhausted at each day's end, with time for little else.

If a task requires the both of them, it is increasingly attended by wearisome bouts of bickering. The resulting aftermath is that of lingering discord. In unspoken agreement, they try to work separately for the sake of fragile peace, for they know their current difficulties are only temporary. But there are times when Nasir looks up from what he is doing and watches Agron, or catches Agron watching him, and he feels a pull upon his heart. He tries to console himself with the nearing of the first frost, but he cannot entirely ease his worry.

 

Unexpectedly, the most trying task is not expansion of the goats' shelter, nor is it fortification of the roof of the hut. In truth it is entirely unrelated to their winter preparations.

From the goat pen Nasir watches Agron as he wields an ax, easily splitting firewood and tossing it to the side with a strong swing of his arm. Agron is insistent upon undertaking all of this particular labor himself. Nasir suspects that he likes to force use of his hands when given opportunity, even though his grip must be lashed in place. Nasir's gaze travels across the enormous muscles of Agron's arms and back as they flex in exertion, and for several moments Nasir sits transfixed, forgetting what he is doing. Agron turns to swipe his brow and quickly Nasir directs his attention elsewhere.

Long after nightfall they creep into bed. Nasir closes his eyes but he is still not asleep after half an hour's time. All Nasir can think of is Agron's arms and the ripples of his back and how he lays right this moment in such tempting proximity to them. He opens his eyes again.

“Agron?” Nasir says tentatively into the darkness. He hears no answer.

 _“Agron,”_ he tries again, touching the arm beside him.

“...What troubles you?” murmurs Agron, coming half-awake.

Nasir slides up Agron's body, nestling his nose against the side of his neck, enjoying that part of him too. He presses a soft kiss under Agron's ear. “It is nothing... I am kept from slumber.” Nasir crawls over him, leaning down.

_“Nasir.”_

“Hmm?” says Nasir, his fingers wandering down Agron's chest.

“The hour is late.”

“You wish to sleep?” Nasir asks, crestfallen.

“I do not know how you possess strength to do even this.”

Nasir sighs, lying down again at the far edge of the bed. “...The first frost cannot come soon enough.”

But he does not receive response, for already Agron has fallen back to sleep.

 

Nasir wakes the next morning in a particularly irritable mood. Giving Agron's sleeping face an annoyed glance, he rises to rinse his face from the basin on the table. Then he seats himself on a stool, taking some of yesterday's bread to scoop goat cheese from a dish. Nasir chews slowly as he sits watching Agron sleep, feeling his irritation build into anger. His anger grows inexplicably hotter when Agron does not stir.

At last Agron groans, rolling over and rubbing at his eyes. He sits up with a start when he realizes the sun has fully risen, throwing a look to Nasir in confusion.

“Why did you not wake me??”

“Am I to crow at rising of sun?” Nasir answers darkly.

Agron frowns, yanking on clothes. “...You know quite well that work yet remains.”

“You wished for sleep, I have given leave to sleep your fill,” says Nasir indifferently. “And now that you have slept your fill, you complain I have not woken you. I cannot give you both things.”

“And what of approaching season? Do you wish cock to become as ice in fucking snow? Or do you prefer we perish to miserable fucking hunger??” responds Agron in sarcastic tone. “You piss about as though ignorant of matters at hand, Nasir!”

“I merely grow weary of unrelenting sour mood. Did it not cross mind that I stand just as wanting of sleep? Is it not possible to carve one fucking moment from drudgery??”

“You speak of previous night?!” asks Agron, taken aback.

Nasir looks at him steadily. “...I speak of _many_ nights of _many_ days.”

“I can scarcely believe-”

“Nor can I.”

 _“Do not_ lay blame upon _me_ for lack of fucking sleep.” Agron points at him, voice rising. “And you well know your mood has stood no better than mine of late!”

“Oh, none stand your equal in moods of shit!” responds Nasir in matching volume. “Bear with thorn in fucking ass makes far more desirable company!”

“You are worse than a _fucking woman_ when you are of a mind!!” thunders Agron with a fierce glare.

“I stand no better and no worse than any man or woman. You bluster shit from mouth like _mindless fucking oaf!”_ hisses Nasir, livid with fury. “I cannot stomach another fucking word!!”

Agron storms past him, pausing in the doorway. “I leave for market,” Agron says between his teeth, snatching his bag from the floor. _“Fucking gladly.”_

 

For a time those are the last words they exchange. Agron's journey to the village miles to the west takes the rest of the day, and returns him the afternoon of the next. He finds a bowl of food waiting for him, but Nasir does not greet him, so Agron angrily follows suit. Nasir stands with his arms crossed, watching Agron eat, looking him over to see he is of sound body. Before Agron is finished, Nasir leaves to continue work without a word.

One day and then another pass in silence. Though the weather begins to cool, it does little for heated tempers. They become locked in a battle of wills. The silence sits like a heavy cloud over them, but to break first words would mean capitulation, and their mutual anger turns them as stubborn as mules.

In the end it is Agron who makes the first move towards reconciliation. Nasir is standing at the table when he feels Agron's arms come around him from behind. They stand motionless there together for a long moment, both feeling the weight of anger and stress spun out of control.

“...Forgive me.” Agron turns Nasir around to face him.

 _“Tell me,”_ demands Nasir, refusing to meet Agron's gaze.

“Heart is torn from chest for want of you.” Agron pulls Nasir away from the table, walking him backwards. Nasir cannot decide whether he should acquiesce, but it is too difficult to resist laying upon the bed in Agron's arms.

“I cannot sleep, I cannot feel, I cannot taste...” Agron tells him, looking down at him intently. When at last Nasir allows himself to meet Agron's eyes, he is reminded of their beauty, and the ache in his heart when they are locked upon him.

“Need for you consumes every thought,” says Agron like a plea, waiting for Nasir's reply.

For a moment Nasir turns his face away, feeling grim satisfaction as he hears the desperation in Agron's voice. But then he looks up at him with a guilty expression. "...I too have felt torture of it, and allowed shit to fall from mouth," he admits quietly.

"It is to be expected. I have laid many careless wounds upon the one who holds my heart." Agron cups his cheek, looking relieved.

Nasir leans into his touch with a sigh. "...Are we destined to drive each other to madness, come winter?" He pulls at the edge of Agron's coat until it slips from one shoulder.

Agron smiles, crouching down lower, shrugging off the other shoulder of his coat. It falls to the floor as his mouth captures Nasir's. "I might welcome madness, if it promises such reward..."

Nasir turns his head to the side, baring his neck. He is surprised at how much he shivers with the first brush of Agron's lips. “Even if you are to wait a month's time for appeasement?”

Agron exhales hot breath in the hollow of Nasir's throat, pulling away Nasir's braccae impatiently. He runs his hands over the shapes of Nasir's body as though he wants to relearn every muscle. “It is a curious kind of pain... both stinging and sweet.”

Nasir's fingers trace a meandering trail down between them until he finds what he seeks. “...How I have longed to be stung once again,” Nasir tells Agron softly, with a caress that is equally so.

 

Nasir watches with immense pleasure as Agron's face changes, hanging on the gentle movements of his wrist. He loves the weight of Agron's cock in his grasp, the heat of Agron's skin like there is fire just beneath the surface. There is an answering heat within Nasir's own body, but he allows it to smolder until his hand finishes its work, and there are wet drops of Agron's come painting their skin. It smears between their chests when Agron's arms pull Nasir closer, holding him tight enough to hurt just a little, pressing starved kisses to his mouth.

For awhile they lay together, running hands over each other, loving and relieved and more than a little crazed from deprivation. Then Nasir looks up to give Agron a purposeful smile, placing lingering kisses across his chest.

Agron rises over him wordlessly and Nasir moves to his hands and knees. The initial touch again draws a tremble as Agron squeezes Nasir's waist, and Nasir feels Agron's thick, solid body nestle between his thighs. Nasir exhales as Agron strokes him, parting his legs a little wider, giving himself over to the intoxication of his lust bit by bit.

A drizzle of oil pools at the small of his back, making a lazy track downwards, and then Agron's fingers slide over him and into him. Agron works him indulgently, with soft and deliberate movements. Nasir drops from his palms to his elbows, biting his lip, breathing hard. He could come from such careful ministrations alone, but somehow he keeps himself just shy of surrender. His hips move back against Agron's fingers, seeking more.

Then Nasir feels the head of Agron's cock, so close but not close enough. His hips move back again, and Nasir sighs his want of penetration, looking up at Agron over his shoulder. He reaches behind him and clutches Agron's thigh, dragging his nails across the skin, enjoying the catch in Agron's throat as he does so.

Nasir loves the way Agron gives him exactly what he wants, how they moan together as Agron presses into him and they become one flesh. The feeling of at last satisfying the torturous craving overwhelms. With gentle motion Nasir rides Agron, his mouth falling open with the sound of his pleasure, sinking fully under the sensation that floods him. He rocks back against the wall of Agron's body again and again in a beautiful unrelenting rhythm, like he is a being of singular purpose.

Then Agron takes control, pushing Nasir back down again, planting a foot behind him as he shifts position. Nasir fists the fabric beneath them as Agron fucks him, delving into him long and deep and hard. With a strong hand Agron leans into Nasir's shoulder as he looms over him, needing to possess him as much as Nasir's need to be possessed.

When Nasir comes it is delicious and brutal, nearly at the same moment as Agron. He can do nothing but lie prone as his breathing calms, a sweaty cheek against the bedding and eyes shut. His body rolls bonelessly as Agron winds arms around him and pulls him close. He feels Agron's mouth taste the salty moisture of his skin, the soft drag of Agron's teeth over the back of his neck. Nasir shudders, luxuriating in Agron's affection, exhaling as his hands embrace the arms around his waist. Slowly he opens his eyes, turning to caress Agron's cheek.

"I shall happily finish work without clamor, I promise you," whispers Nasir with a smile.

Agron shakes his head. "I need not have pressed us so hard upon task. It was unwise."

"It is my first winter in my new home. I must lay trust in your experience to guide us through.” Nasir traces the contours of Agron's arm. “Greed of my desire clouded thought."

"You stand as beast when you are deprived so," comments Agron.

"...Apologies," Nasir says, casting coy eyes at him.

"None are required." Agron smiles. "...I do not raise complaint."

 

In the morning, the air outside carries a subtly different smell. The grass bears the first frost of the season, as though the gods have taken paint and brush to every blade. From the warmth of their shelter the goats wander out into their pen as they hear Nasir approach. Their bodies are now a little thicker with soft delicate undercoats, grown in preparation of the chill. Nasir takes a second look at one of the does, noticeably thicker than the others.

"You have been holding secret, I see," he says to her with a delighted wink.

"She at last draws your attention," says Agron loftily, from the other side of the fence.

Nasir looks at him in disbelief. “...You knew of this?”

"You are surprised at my competency?" asks Agron with amusement.

"Pleasantly so," returns Nasir with a cheeky grin. "And I am glad you have discovered room in your heart for _needless concerns."_

Agron tilts his head. "Perhaps it is your fondness for them that inspires."

They share a warm look, and then together they descend the frost-kissed hill, trailed by their hungry little flock.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoy the stark contrast between starry-eyed "I love him more everyday" Nasir, and bitchy sex-starved Nasir, hating Agron's guts as he deliberately allows him to oversleep... That's marriage, eh? XD
> 
>  
> 
> I gave Aggy a cameo, and STILL he tries to cock-block my boys! Not this time, Aggy :D


End file.
